


Chance

by CanineKitten



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chance Meetings, Love at First Sight, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 10:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16116722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineKitten/pseuds/CanineKitten
Summary: Naruto falls for a stranger on the train.





	Chance

Naruto yawned. It had been a shitty day. The rain had been pouring down when he left school and he got soaked through because he’d forgot to bring an umbrella. The teacher had once again given him detention for a stupid little thing as falling asleep in class, so he ended up going home in the middle of the afternoon rush.

As he stood there, yawning again because he’d played WoW all night instead of sleeping, he noticed a guy that stood across from him on the train. The guy was tall, maybe around Naruto’s height, had midnight-black hair and was wearing a pair of old, battered headphones. He was reading a frayed and worn paperback with a black cover.

Naruto cocked his head to try and read the title. ‘The Trial’… It sounded depressing. He looked at the guy again, and suddenly he was looking straight into his eyes. He turned away immediately, startled that he’d been caught staring. He leant into the swaying motion of the train, and stared out the window at the gray buildings outside.

The train stopped to let more people on and Naruto got pressed farther to the back. He grabbed the overhead bar, and put his other hand in his pocket where he fiddled with a lighter that he always carried with him. It had a stupid picture of a dog on it. Now it was wet, just like the rest of him.

People were filing in around him, more and more for each train stop, until Naruto was squeezed in between backs and bags and shoulders, and the guy with the black hair and the depressing book was standing right in front of him. Naruto got really self-conscious about his wet jacket. He felt like he was leaving wet patches on all the people around him. His hair was dripping water on his shoulder, and on the purse of the woman next to him.

The dark-haired guy hadn’t stopped reading. He was standing so close to Naruto that staring at him became all too easy. He was right there, right in front of his face, and now Naruto could see that his skin actually was just as spotless as it had seemed at a distance.

He stared for so long that the guy sent him a pointed look from behind his black fringe. His eyes were framed with thick layers of coal, and their color was just a dark as the makeup he wore.

Naruto looked away.

The train shifted and clattered along. The guy was holding onto the overhead bar, his hand right next to Naruto’s. Sometimes his elbow brushed Naruto’s arm. He turned his back on Naruto like he was trying to put a barrier between them. He was wearing a frayed leather jacket, and his book bag had a rainbow pin on it.

Suddenly he made an impatient jerk of his head, and glared at Naruto over his arm.

“Do you mind?”

Naruto blinked. He stared at the guy, who was staring back.

“You’re dripping on my shoulder.”

“Oh! Sorry, I… uh… Sorry…”

Naruto turned his head away, his face red with embarrassment at having been caught. The train came to a stop, and more people filed on. They got squeezed farther to the back of the train, and Naruto had to let go of the overhead bar. The dark-haired guy got pressed closer to him. Naruto’s heart summersaulted in his chest.

Somehow, he’d gotten turned towards Naruto. They were so close they nearly touched. The guy seemed to be aware of the awkward position too. He tried to turn away, but they were so tightly pressed together he couldn’t really move. They ended up standing chest to chest, staring intently in different directions, like they weren’t mashed up against each other more tightly than even lovers would be comfortable with.

Naruto blushed a bit as he thought of that… Lovers… He felt warmth spread in his stomach.

No… No, don’t think indecent things about strangers. Goddammit… Could this train ride be over soon? For each jolt the train made, the guy leant into him. He had nothing to hold on to, and neither did Naruto. He squared his stance and hoped he wouldn’t fall. Though, that would probably be impossible in this throng. The train cut an especially sharp turn, and the guy grabbed onto Naruto’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“S’okay.”

Awkward.

“Um… Sorry for…” Naruto shrugged his shoulder to indicate his wet clothes. He knew he was drenching the other guy’s jacket. “Got caught in the downpour.”

The guy shrugged. “I usually avoid the evening rush for exactly this reason.”

Naruto chuckled. “Me too.” He hesitated. “But you’re not the worst to get stuck with like this.”

The guy measured him with his unfathomable dark eyes.

“I mean… You smell nice.”

He blushed. Oh god, what was he saying?! His brain to mouth filter was nonexistent.

The guy laughed drily. “Seriously?”

“What I’m getting at is… You could have been an unwashed two hundred pound guy coming right from the gym, ya know? It could have been worse.”

The guy’s eyes narrowed. “I guess,” he said.

The guy’s hand was still resting Naruto’s shoulder, and they seemed to notice at the same time because he suddenly pulled away.

“It’s okay,” Naruto said. “I don’t mind.”

There was a long moment of hesitation, and then the guy placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder again.

“I can’t reach the overhead bar,” he said.

“Me neither. Let’s hope we don’t fall over.”

As the train sped on they looked shyly at each other, not having many other places to rest their eyes. The guy’s hand was warm against Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto started noticing things about him that he liked. His sweater had, like, a horizontal neckline that made his neck look really slender. And he had polished fingernails: a dark pink color. Naruto stared at them for maybe a little too long. The guy clenched his hand.

“Um… Unusual choice,” Naruto said. Then he realized he might come off as critical. “But it’s… nice,” he amended.

The guy looked like he wasn’t sure if he should smile or glare.

“My brother always tells me I have horrible taste,” he said.

“I don’t think so,” Naruto said.

The guy looked away, his cheeks coloring. Outside the sky was still as grey as the buildings below it. Sheets of water ran down the train’s windows.

“Um… Are you a high school student?” Naruto asked in a sudden need to break the tension. They were already physically close so he might as well get to know him better.

“Yeah. You?”

Naruto nodded. “Konoha high.”

“That’s downtown?”

“Yup. Where do you go?”

The guy hesitated for a second. “Sound high.”

Naruto tried to remember where he had heard that name before. Nothing came to mind.

“It’s in the museum district.”

“Is it like, a music school? Do you play in a band or something?”

The boy smiled, a small, sardonic smile that made Naruto feel a bit fluttery inside.

“No. It’s not, and I don’t.”

“Sorry. Did I offend you?”

“… No, I just think you’re being a bit prejudiced.”

“What? Why?”

The guy shrugged. “You place me in a band because of my looks.”

“Because you’re good looking?”

The guy stared at him and Naruto realized he should learn to shut his mouth.

“That’s not what I meant,” the guy said. His cheeks had gotten a tiny bit pink again.

The train came to a stop and they swayed dangerously. The guy’s grip tightened on Naruto’s shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” the guy muttered when he could straighten up again.

“Don’t sweat it,” Naruto said.

Even more people filed on. Although it didn’t seem possible at this point, they got pressed even closer together than they’d already been. Naruto felt the warmth of the guys’ body against his chest. He really did smell good…a fresh, slightly flowery scent that was unusual for a guy, but definitely nice.

Everyone was crammed so tight together that it was impossible to as much as wriggle a finger. Naruto’s right hand was now trapped between his body and the man next to him, and his left was trapped against the dark-haired guy’s hip.

The guy has turned his head so that their faces wouldn’t get smashed together. Naruto’s nose was almost in his hair. He turned a bit so that it wouldn’t seem weird, and they ended up standing almost cheek-to-cheek. He could swear he felt the guy’s heartbeat against his chest.

He became keenly aware of the back of his hand, which was pressed to the guy’s hip. He tried to wriggle his arm loose, but just ended up elbowing the woman next to him.

The guy glanced down, a signal that he’d noticed and probably was wondering what Naruto was doing.

“Sorry,” Naruto said. “My arm is stuck, I swear.”

The guy turned his head a bit, and suddenly his breath fanned over Naruto’s neck. He forgot to breathe for a second. A tingle ran through him. He froze where he stood. It was strange… He’d never felt this way about someone he’d just met before, especially not a stranger whom he would probably never see again.

It was then that it hit him. He’d probably _never_ see this guy again. He was just a stranger on the train, and so was Naruto. They were just strangers. But Naruto realized he didn’t want them to be. He didn’t want to let this guy go, even though he didn’t know him. Even though he didn’t know what he wanted from him.  
He racked his brain for something to say that maybe could accidentally get them on the subject of perhaps seeing each other again, but at that time his brain decided to become completely devoid of any interesting subjects.

The train slowed down, and the last station was announced. The guy leant heavily on him and Naruto allowed his body to sink against his. The doors would open in a few seconds and Naruto still hadn’t been able to think of anything clever to say. As the train came to a full stop, he acted on sheer impulse.

“What’s your name?”

The question seemed to hang in the air for a suspended moment before the train doors opened and everyone around them started pushing to get off the train. Naruto thought about grabbing the guy’s hand so that he didn’t lose him in the throng, but a guy stepped in between them, and then a woman, and then Naruto lost sight of the dark-haired guy.

He was propelled towards the exit by the steady trickle of people around him, unable to change the direction or get an overview of the people around him. It all just turned into a mass of people with black jackets and dark hair. He was urged forward until he finally stood on the street outside. He lit a cigarette and rubbed his arms. It was a bit cold outside and he was still wet.

Even though he waited for a while. He didn’t see the black-haired guy again. There was more than one exit from the platform, so the guy could be far away already for all he knew.

As he shuffled home he felt an unfathomable emptiness inside… He shook his head, spreading droplets of water around him in the process.

What was he going on about?

It was just a chance meeting… A stranger.

It wasn’t like they’d ever see each other again. Or that he’d even remember this meeting in a year’s time.

His heart said differently, aching with a sore pulse, but Naruto overheard it.

He’d missed his chance and he’d have to live with it.

 

\------

 

_Three years later_

 

Naruto had just moved into his own flat in the center of town. He was thrilled with the freedom he was allowed, but he very soon realized that it was a complete pain to have to make his own food every day. Most of the time he relied on instant ramen or pizza.

He was in the local grocery store one day when he noticed someone he thought he knew.

Naruto frowned at the dark-haired man standing in the vegetable isle. There was something familiar about him, but Naruto couldn’t quite place him.

He walked closer.

“Excuse me... Do I know you?”

The guy looked around, like he expected Naruto to be talking to someone else.

“I think you’re mistaken,” he said.

“No… I’m pretty sure I’ve met you before…”

Dark, long fringes framing a beautiful face, dark eyes that seemed oddly familiar… Naruto rarely forgot a face, but he had trouble placing this guy.

“Wait…”

The guy didn’t have pink nail polish, neither did he wear a leather jacket or black eyeliner. Instead he was wearing a grey sweater and black jeans. Pretty ordinary clothes. Maybe that was why Naruto didn’t recognize him at first.

“I met you on the train!” he gasped. “It must’ve been at least three years ago.”

The guy looked honestly befuddled. And then there was like a switch clicked on and he looked at Naruto more properly.

“You’re the stranger who kept talking to me during the whole train ride,” he said.

Naruto grinned and blushed. He scratched his head.

“Ahaha… Yeah, I guess I did...”

The guy laughed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve told my friends that story a million times. They never get tried of it. But I never thought I’d run into you again.”

“Ah, yeah… that’s pretty weird.” Naruto probably shouldn’t push it, but he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice… “Do you want to go out with me?”

The guy looked taken aback.

“I mean, uh, as a friend. You know, take a coffee… catch up about… that one time we met…” His face was bright red by now.

A smile spread slowly on the man’s face.

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “On one condition.”

“Sure!”

The man came a little closer. He gave Naruto what could only be defined as a flirtatious smile. “That you take me out on a date. _Not_ as friends.”

Naruto felt his heart flutter in his chest.

“Okay.”

The guy reached out his hand.

“I’m Sasuke, by the way.”

Naruto took his hand. “Naruto.”

They looked at each other for a long moment until Sasuke averted his gaze and distractedly shoved a tuft of hair behind his ear.

“Kinda strange,” he said, “That we should meet again after all those years.”

“Yeah, what are the odds?”

The both set down their shopping baskets and left the store together.

“I suppose it was meant to be.”


End file.
